Tethering to Nikon Z6 - still not reliable, still only in Rosetta mode

Report · Jul 06, 2023

Hi,

1) Why after all this time do I still need to run Lightroom Classic in Rosetta mode to tether a Nikon Z6 to Macbook Air with M1 chip? It's literally been years. Why doesn't Lightroom tether natively?

2) Why is tethering still so unstable? Sometimes it works, sometimes it works after a few disconnects/reconnects, sometimes it doesn't work at all. I've resorted to using (any paying for) CaptureOne to tether, then auto import to Lightroom to edit. If CaptureOne can tether 100% reliably, why can't Lightroom?

I'm using the latest versions of all software - Lightroom Classic, Mac OS and Nikon firmware. I can understand there would be a delay in getting it working during the transition from Intel to Apple silicon, but it's been waaaaaay too long for that to be an excuse anymore. I pay for Lightroom to work as a professional piece of software... it kinda isn't when it comes to tethering.

Report · Aug 01, 2023

Today's experience: tethered OK at setup, working fine, changed battery, Lightroom refuses to tether again, restarted everything, no tethering. Backup solution of using CaptureOne to tether and auto-import to Lightroom Classic, which obviously slows everything down.

Same question: Why can CaptureOne tether 100% of the time and Lightroom not?

Report · Dec 08, 2023

For anyone that's reading and in the same situation, here's a solution: use Smart Shooter from Tether Tools alongside Lightroom. Load Smart Shooter first, connect to your camera, then start Lightroom Classic in normal mode and it'll pick up the camera every time.

Adobe - thank me later.